After I Transmigrated into the Novel, I made the Heroine Fall for Me - Chapter 79

With a cold tone, the maidservant looked up at her in confusion and asked, “Aren’t you afraid something might happen to your destined one, Palace Master?”

Legend had it that Hualan Palace possessed a pair of golden koi jade pendants. The palace master held one, while the person who held the other was said to be her destined partner.

This destined one could influence her life and death, and through the generations, the masters of Hualan Palace would always marry their fated counterparts. In other words, the bearer of the pendant was the other half of the palace master’s life.

The maidservant watched as the man and woman walked forward hand in hand, her brow furrowing slightly. Were the two of them being a little too intimate?

As if only a thin veil, easily torn, stood between them.

In the maidservant’s eyes, the one who held the other pendant was undoubtedly the palace master’s destined partner. So, given the current situation, it seemed more like the two of them were deeply in love, while the palace master had become an outsider.

Perhaps sensing the maidservant’s tangled emotions, Palace Master Hua cast her a glance, her indifferent eyes like a stagnant pool of water, utterly unruffled. Watching the ambiguous gestures between the two, she showed not the slightest displeasure.

“Palace Master?” the maidservant called softly.

“He is not,” Palace Master Hua denied, pressing her lips together as fragments of the past surfaced in her mind.

Her slender fingertips traced the cool surface of the jade, the raised relief of the koi beneath her touch, the uneven texture seeming to remind her of something.

She remembered that person a woman, blazing like fire, capable of burning anyone who drew near.

As for why the pendant had ended up in that man’s possession, Palace Master Hua had yet to uncover the reason.

All she knew was a vague intuition that keeping him here might lead her to that woman’s whereabouts.

The maidservant didn’t understand her words but silently retreated to the side.

Half an incense stick’s time slipped by unnoticed.

From within the mist, two figures emerged, supporting each other.

Yin Muyi’s body was covered in wounds, blood staining his robes like footprints left behind.

In contrast to his wretched state, Zhuo Shuanglian appeared almost unscathed, save for her pallid complexion.

In her hands, she held a jade box, a container specially designed to seal and preserve the potency of medicinal herbs.

Within this box, the herbs could be kept perfectly intact, their efficacy undiminished.

“Thank you, Palace Master Hua, for your generosity,” Zhuo Shuanglian said with a slight nod, supporting Yin Muyi as she spoke.

The atmosphere between them was far more harmonious than before, as if some barrier had been broken, allowing them to speak heart-to-heart. A faint, sweet fragrance seemed to linger around them.

Palace Master Hua lifted her gaze slightly, her lashes fluttering as she regarded the two in silence for a long moment.

“The item was obtained by your own efforts. There is no need to thank me,” she said.

She had merely played the role of a guide.

The medicinal herb had always belonged to them, Hualan Palace had only been entrusted with its safekeeping.

A cool breeze stirred the hems of their robes, the sheer veil over her face obscuring any hint of emotion.

Zhuo Shuanglian glanced at Palace Master Hua and said, “If there is nothing else, we shall take our leave.”

The man beside her could endure no further delay. Several times during their herb-gathering ordeal, they had nearly been trapped, their lives hanging by a thread.

Right now, all she wanted was to brew all the herbs into a medicinal broth and feed it to Yin Muyi. The sooner his wounds were treated, the sooner her heart would find peace.

“Very well,” Palace Master Hua replied coolly.

Relieved, Zhuo Shuanglian quickly steadied Yin Muyi and began leading him down the mountain path.

They hadn’t gone far when a flash of crimson swept past them. Zhuo Shuanglian instinctively looked down at the jade box in her hand, only to find it had mysteriously vanished.

She turned and demanded, “Palace Master Hua, if you wanted this herb, why deceive us into retrieving it?”

Only the four of them were present at the scene.

Yin Muyi, who was nearly unconscious, couldn’t possibly be the one who snatched the box, and she herself certainly wasn’t. That left the Palace Master of Hualan Palace and her maidservant as the prime suspects.

Zhuo Shuanglian was convinced of this.

“Miss Zhuo, I advise you to think carefully before speaking,” the maidservant retorted, her face flushing with anger. “The Palace Master and I have been standing here the whole time. How could we have stolen it? Perhaps you’re the one playing the thief crying ‘stop thief,’ unwilling to save that man and stirring up trouble instead?”

The maidservant spat out her thoughts in one breath, her tone dripping with sarcasm, showing no courtesy toward Zhuo Shuanglian.

She had already been furious at Zhuo Shuanglian and Yin Muyi for their ulterior motives. Though the Palace Master had made it clear that the destined one was someone else, the maidservant still harbored resentment.

Now, the jade box had disappeared from Zhuo Shuanglian’s hands, yet she turned around and accused the people of Hualan Palace. This only fueled the maidservant’s rage.

“How could I possibly be playing the thief? A red shadow just flashed past me. If it wasn’t someone from Hualan Palace, who else could have infiltrated this place?”

Zhuo Shuanglian’s face burned with anger at the maidservant’s twisted words. Supporting Yin Muyi, she countered sharply, “Or is Hualan Palace’s security so lax that outsiders can slip in unnoticed?”

“You!” The maidservant took a furious step forward, her sword nearly leaving its sheath.

It seemed that if Zhuo Shuanglian uttered one more insult against Hualan Palace, she would strike her down with that blade.

“What? Am I not even allowed to speak the truth?” Zhuo Shuanglian met the maidservant’s gaze fearlessly, her eyes blazing with fury.

If she ever found out who had stolen the jade box from her, she would make them pay dearly.

Suddenly, Palace Master Hua raised her hand, her wide sleeve sweeping out as if releasing a wave of energy toward a certain spot.

Along with the surge came her cool, measured voice:

“Since you’ve come, why not show yourself properly instead of skulking like a petty thief?”

“Boom!”

The energy struck a rock, shattering it instantly.

Debris scattered across the ground, and as the dust settled, a figure was revealed.

When the haze cleared, it was a woman.

Clad in crimson robes, her eyes brimming with allure, she toyed with the jade box she had snatched from Zhuo Shuanglian, her demeanor dripping with provocation.

She cast a flirtatious glance at Palace Master Hua and said languidly, “Little girl, have you missed me? I’ve been longing for you terribly.”

Before Palace Master Hua could respond, her ears turned bright red.

Beside her, the maidservant exploded like a lit powder keg. She drew her sword and pointed it at the woman in red, demanding, “Who are you? Why did you steal the jade box and frame Hualan Palace for it?”

The woman’s lips were painted a seductive shade of red. She frowned at the jade box in her hand and said, “Isn’t this just a broken box? What’s all the fuss about? Besides, since the item is in my possession, why are you pointing a sword at me? Aren’t you afraid I might accidentally destroy it with a single tremble of my hand?”

As she spoke, she blinked her star-like eyes and made a playful, endearing gesture.

But this was merely how she perceived her own expression.

To the maidservant and Zhuo Shuanglian, her actions were nothing short of deliberate provocation yet they were restrained and dared not retort.

Zhuo Shuanglian needed this medicine to save a life and couldn’t risk acting rashly against her.

The maidservant, on the other hand, dared not act without orders from the palace mistress.

In a way, the two found themselves in the same predicament.

Watching the tense standoff forming between the three, Palace Mistress Hua rubbed her temples wearily, her voice tinged with resignation. “You, stop making trouble.”

“Who’s making trouble?” The woman curved her lips and took a step closer to Palace Mistress Hua, her crimson lips slightly pouting as if inviting a kiss.

The maidservant tried to rush forward and block her, but for some reason, her body froze unnaturally, unable to move.

Wide-eyed, she watched as the woman shamelessly approached their revered palace mistress, her anger flaring until her eyes reddened.

“Stay away from the palace mistress!”

“Damn you! If you have the guts, release me!”

“Why are you immobilizing me? Are you afraid of me?”

The maidservant was so furious she began spouting nonsense.

The woman turned around, her face a picture of confusion. “Why blame me? The one who immobilized you wasn’t me, it was your palace mistress.”

No sooner had she spoken than Palace Mistress Hua met the maidservant’s bewildered gaze.

Clearing her throat softly, she raised a slender arm and reached for the jade box in the woman’s hand. “Be good. Give it to me.”

Pouting, the woman replied with a resentful tone, “This medicine was cultivated by your own hands. I don’t want to give it to anyone else!”

Anything related to Palace Mistress Hua was of utmost importance to her.

“Xuan’er,” Palace Mistress Hua sighed helplessly, pulling the woman into her embrace with her free hand while gently prying the jade box from her grip.

In the next moment, she casually tossed the box into Zhuo Shuanglian’s arms.

Holding the woman close, Palace Mistress Hua let her lean against her as she carried her toward the inner palace. Before leaving, she asked one last question.

“Will you run away again?”

“Hmph, go ahead and break my legs if you dare!”

Left behind, Zhuo Shuanglian and the maidservant exchanged glances, both seeing the same shock in each other’s eyes along with the suspicion that they had just witnessed an intimate display.

Inside the palace, in the mistress’s chambers.

The woman was placed on a soft divan as Palace Mistress Hua leaned over her, trapping her within her shadow.

She ran her fingers through the woman’s long hair, inhaling lightly before murmuring, “Lin Xuehuan, you’ve been gone for seven days this time. Care to explain?”

The woman Lin Xuehuan lifted her eyes to meet the palace mistress’s calm gaze, then guiltily averted her own.

“Hmm?”

The husky notes at the end carried an almost lingering, suggestive weight.

“I just went out for some fun. Could it be that the little girl can’t bear to be without me?” Lin Xuehuan stiffened her neck, refusing to admit any fault. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. I wonder who it was that didn’t even want to see me in the past? What, you’re angry just because I went out for seven days?”

“My mistake.” The Flower Palace Master kissed her long hair, the corners of his eyes lifting slightly as he dropped a bombshell. “I only avoided you because I was afraid of scaring you.”

“Oh? So, it’s my fault now?” Lin Xuehuan immediately bristled at his words.

This man admitted fault one moment and shifted blame the next did he think she wouldn’t get angry?

“You’re not afraid?”

“Ridiculous! What would I be afraid of?”

“If you’re not afraid, then that’s good.”

The Flower Palace Master smiled, his words laced with hidden meaning.

“I was worried you’d be frightened, but it seems you’re quite bold.”

Lin Xuehuan lifted her head proudly, revealing her elegant swan-like neck. She laughed. “I’m not like you, little girl! I’ve seen plenty, there’s nothing that can scare me!”

“Is that so?”

The Flower Palace Master chuckled softly and released the strands of her hair.

A warm sensation descended.

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